The present invention is directed toward an automated bathroom and more particularly toward an automatic computer controlled bathroom including a shower, bathtub, sink and toilet which can all be electronically controlled.
It is common practice in most residential buildings to locate the domestic hot water heater at some distance from the bathroom. As a result, if the hot water tap had not been utilized for some period of time, the water in the pipe between the heater and the bathroom will have decreased in temperature and would be at room temperature or below if the pipe were located in an exterior wall. Thus, when it is desired to utilize hot water, one must turn the hot water valve on and wait some considerable period of time for the water to reach proper temperature. This is not only annoying but can also be dangerous since the water coming from the faucet may suddenly become scalding hot.
A similar problem occurs when one wishes to take a shower. Initially adjusting the hot and cold water faucets for the shower may bring the combined water temperature close to the desired temperature. However, as the main portion of the hot water reaches the shower head from the hot water heater, the shower temperature can become extremely hot which, again, can cause burning.
A similar problem can occur in many installations when a large quantity of cold water is needed elsewhere in the house such as when a toilet has been flushed. This can result in a surge of hot water coming from the shower head. Of course, the reverse can also occur. That is, occasionally all of the hot water will be temporarily drawn off and a surge of cold water may be dispensed from the shower head.
Sudden surges of hot water from a shower or sink can, of course, be dangerous. But even minor changes in temperature are annoying as one must constantly be adjusting the hot and cold water to bring the temperature to some desired comfortable level.
Another problem occurs when one desires to take a bath. As all bathers are aware, it takes a considerable amount of time to fill a bathtub and this is particularly annoying when one wishes to take a bath in the morning as he or she may not have time to wait for the tub to fill. Furthermore, as the tub is being filled, one must constantly check the water temperature and adjust the incoming water to bring the bath temperature to the proper point.
Inventions have been proposed, such as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,042,984, for automatically controlling the water level in a bathtub. While this may help to relieve one of the problems associated with filling a tub, it does not alleviate the other problems described above.